Sprint spits out T-Mobile US gobble bid, says goodbye to CEO – claim

And almost exactly a year after Softbank officially swallowed Sprint

Sprint is set to give up its attempt to acquire T-Mobile US and plans to replace its own CEO, or so it is claimed.

The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources in reporting that fears monopoly watchdogs would nix the merger led US carrier Sprint to abandon its pursuit of T-Mob US. The deal was rumored to be worth as much as US$32bn.

With the US market already dominated by large national carriers, officials had been reluctant to accept any deal that would further consolidate the market.

A third company, French Carrier Iliad, publicly made a rival bid to acquire T-Mobile US, though that offer is said to have already been shot down.

Sprint declined to comment on the Wally report. The biz is expected to issue its own statement on the matter on Wednesday.

Shortly after word of the failed acquisition surfaced, a second report suggested that Sprint's Wednesday statement will also announce the departure of its CEO. Re/code is reporting that the firm will name a successor to CEO Dan Hesse tomorrow when it breaks its silence on the T-Mobile US bid.

Hesse has been with the company since 2007, a tenure that included an acquisition of the firm almost exactly a year ago by Japanese telecoms giant SoftBank.

The departure of a CEO in the wake of an acquisition is not unheard of – it's often expected, in fact. It could be that Sprint wants to soften the blow of its T-mobile US stumble by revealing a strategy for its future within Softbank at the same time. ®